After suggesting that the shepherd lover and she have gotten behind the Fall into Paradise, back into the Garden of Eden as it were (in Song 7:10), the woman now invites the man into the Garden of delights:
\n7:11 Come, my beloved,
\nlet us go forth into the fields,
\nand lodge in the villages;
\n12 \tlet us go out early to the vineyards,
\nand see whether the vines have budded,
\nwhether the grape blossoms have opened
\nand the pomegranates are in bloom.
\nThere I will give you my love.
\n13 \tThe mandrakes give forth fragrance,
\nand over our doors are all choice fruits,
\nnew as well as old,
\nwhich I have laid up for you, O my beloved.
\nThese are the fruits that grow in the pleasure garden: see 4:13. She is that garden. Or, is she speaking now of an orchard? This, as I read it, is an invitation to love — the young woman summons her shepherd lover to her.
\nIs she inviting him to her or is she offering an invitation for the two of them to find a place, a sacred place, for love? Let us find us a place she says for “there I will give you my love” (7:12).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After suggesting that the shepherd lover and she have gotten behind the Fall into Paradise, back into the Garden of Eden as it were (in Song 7:10), the woman now invites the man into the Garden of delights:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"yoast_head":"\n